As this year's entertaining primary campaign nears an end, here are some things to pay attention to.
Chris Megerian with LA Times: "We’re almost there, the end of the line. Voters in California and five other states – New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana – cast ballots Tuesday in the final big round of primaries in the battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for theDemocratic presidential nomination."
"Here’s what we’re watching for:"
"History will be made. In 57 U.S. presidential elections, no major party has nominated a woman for president. Clinton is on track to be the first, and the Associated Press reported Monday night that she had secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic Party’s nod. Clinton is expected to solidify her hold on the nomination once polls close in New Jersey at 8 p.m. Eastern. She’s holding a rally in Brooklyn, N.Y., to mark the occasion."
Some fear that Clinton's presumptive win may deter voters in California from even casting a ballot.
Christopher Cadelago in Sacramento Bee: "Turnout for Tuesday’s presidential primary in California wasn’t expected to set any records."
"But after The Associated Press declared late Monday that Hillary Clinton had already collected enough delegates to become the first female presidential nominee for a major party, campaigns across the state were working hard to ensure the news didn’t further discourage Californians from going to the polls."
"You know, according to the news, we are on the brink of a historic, unprecedented moment. But we still have work to do, don’t we?” Clinton said as she campaigned in Long Beach on Monday evening. “We have six elections tomorrow, and we’re going to fight hard for every single vote, especially right here in California."
With today's ballot comes a measure you may be unfamiliar with: Proposition 50.
Capitol Weekly's Chuck McFadden writes: "It hasn’t attracted as much attention as some of the gaudier ideas on the November ballot, such as mandatory condoms in X-rated movies, but Californians will have one measure to decide Tuesday in the primary election."
"That lone proposal is Proposition 50, which would allow legislators, on a two-thirds vote, to eliminate pay and benefits for fellow members arrested or convicted of a felony."
"Legislators can already suspend or expel a colleague, but there has been no provision to halt pay and benefits for a suspended lawmaker. State senators make $100,111 annually, with a recommended pay hike to $104,115 a year from the Citizens Compensation Commission."
SEE ALSO: California Proposition 50 explained -- Patch.com.
Absentee voter polling shows Democrats gaining ground in Republican-dominant parts of Southern California.
Capitol Weekly's Johnathan Brown: "Will Orange County, along with its San Diego and Inland Empire neighbors, look a little bluer on Wednesday?"
"If so, is it a harbinger of things to come? Or is it just the impact of the Democratic presidential primary still being contested while Donald Trump has the GOP nomination wrapped up?"
"These are the questions raised by the down-ballot results of our absentee voter exit polling. Here are the complete infographics for the Congressional, Assembly and Senate races."
Gov. Brown's prison population reduction plan got the nod of approval on Monday.
Sudhin Thalawala in KPCC: "The California Supreme Court Monday allowed Gov. Jerry Brown's bid to put his plan to reduce the state's prison population before voters in November."
"The justices rejected a lower court ruling that said Brown improperly amended a juvenile justice initiative to increase sentencing credits for adult inmates and allow earlier parole for non-violent felons."
"The lower court judge said the governor's changes violated a 2014 law that requires that amendments are reasonably related to the original initiative and new initiatives receive 30 days of public comment."
With brother Ron Calderon awaiting trial, former Assemblyman Tom Calderon plead guilty to money laundering on Monday.
David Siders & Alexei Koseff in Sac Bee: "Former Democratic Assemblyman Tom Calderon on Monday pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering in the corruption case involving him and his brother, former state Sen. Ron Calderon."
"In the court filing, Tom Calderon implicated his brother, saying the two men concealed bribe money Ron Calderon was receiving from two undercover agents working for the FBI."
"In exchange, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, which was prosecuting the case, will move to dismiss six other money laundering counts and seek no more than 12 months in prison for Tom Calderon, according to the filing. Sentencing is set for Sept. 12."
Astronomers at UC Berkeley have made a very interesting discovery: the universe is expanding almost 10% faster than originally thought.
Daily Californian's Jessie Qian: "A team of astronomers from UC Berkeley and other institutions, in their quest to reduce uncertainty about the expansion rate of the universe, has uncovered evidence that the universe is expanding faster than previously predicted."
"The team, which was headed by Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute and included campus astronomy professor Alex Filippenko, took the most precise measurements of the expansion rate of the universe to date and concluded that the universe is now expanding 5 to 9 percent faster than previous predictions indicated."
"According to Riess, the team has been working on reducing the uncertainty in the Hubble constant since 2005 and will publish its findings in the Astrophysical Journal."
SEE ALSO: Berkeley Lab researchers discover way to increase battery energy density -- Kimberley Nielsen with Daily Californian.
California's water use saw a drastic decrease in April compared to the same time in 2013: 26%.
Phillip Reese and Ryan Sabalow in Sac Bee: "Californians continued to save water in April despite the easing of the drought, reducing use by about 26 percent compared to 2013, the State Water Resources Control Board said Monday."
"The reductions came before the recent roll back of harsh mandatory conservation targets. They also came during a relatively dry April. Sacramento received about 1.5 inches of rain during that month. Los Angeles saw about 0.3 inches."
"Water savings ranged from 23 percent along the south coast to about 33 percent in the San Joaquin valley, state data show. Water districts in the Sacramento River watershed cut use by 31 percent. "
And now from our "Look both ways before crossing" file ...
Florida has a problem with human jaywalkers. The animals, on the other hand, tend to respect the law a little bit more.
UPI: "A law-abiding alligator in Florida was photographed by police using the crosswalk to stroll across a busy street and return to his habitat."
"The Flagler County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post that deputies received a report about 9:20 a.m. Monday about an alligator in some bushes near a busy Palm Coast intersection."
"The post said the alligator, which measured more than 5 feet long, darted out into the street and deputies stopped traffic to allow the reptile to use the crosswalk."
